Foreclosure figures misleading

Concerning the article on foreclosures by Jasen Lee (Aug. 14), the article presents data on foreclosures in a way that portrays the situation in the poorest possible light. (Example: 294.02 percent increase in Utah foreclosure filings in a year.) If you had reported the percentage decrease in the number of households that are still OK, i.e., that did not file foreclosures, rather than the increase in foreclosure filings, the picture would appear quite different.

For example: Using the data in the article, in July 2007, 99.946 percent of households did not file for foreclosure. And in July 2008, 99.788 percent of households did not file for foreclosure. St. George, apparently hardest hit in Utah, with one in 163 households filing, has 99.387 percent of households that did not file for foreclosure.